Slide 1 : Online abstract mentoring
to induct
less-experienced researchers into
scientific literacy practices:
Experiences from the
International AIDS Conferences
COO9 Conference
Outline : Outline Background
Program Development
Program Implementation
Results & Lessons Learned
Discussion
Background (1) : Background (1) Global HIV epidemic is now in its third
decade
Medical, social-behavioral, and policy
developments worldwide need to be
shared
Historically, international dialogue on
infectious diseases has been
dominated by developed-country
researchers
Background (2) : Background (2) International AIDS Conference:
Largest international meeting devoted to a single health issue
25,000 participants attended AIDS 2008 in Mexico
Pathogenesis, Treatment & Prevention Conference:
Smaller conference, with emphasis on science and research
5,000 participants expected to attend IAS 2009 in July, South Africa
Conferences aim to encourage wide participation:
Self-help toolkit
Online abstract mentoring available to young and less-experienced abstract submitters
Background (3) : Background (3) Based on research from previous conferences, there are several reasons why abstracts get rejected:
Poor scientific content
Wrong category or track selection
Poor construction/organization
Data is too preliminary
Lack of novelty, or not contributing to the field
Many submitters are from non-scientific background and not trained in scientific writing and publication processes
Program Development : Program Development IAS serves as the Secretariat for the AIDS & IAS Conferences
Idea: To create an online Abstract Mentoring Program
Aim: to help less-experienced abstract-submitters around the world prepare abstracts of their work
Target: researchers working in HIV/AIDS programs with scientific literacy ‘lack’ (research design, data presentation, how to discuss results)
Program implementation : Program implementation How were draft abstracts solicited?
Pushmail sent out to all 13,000 IAS members, and past conference delegates
Website promotion
Workshops at regional conference in Dakar (ICASA 2008)
How were mentors recruited?
IAS Governing Council members
Previous conference mentors
Previous conference abstract scholars
(either existing HIV science experts, or those who had had abstracts accepted before)
No training provided as not deemed necessary
Slide 8 : Here’s what the
Online
submission
looks
like
Slide 9 : Before you submit
Slide 10 : To submit Self-help tools
Slide 11 : Track and category Title Abstract text
Online self-help tools : Online self-help tools Abstract writing toolkit in 4 languages
Abstract FAQs
Abstract scoring guidelines
Examples of prize-winning abstracts from AIDS 2008
Top 5 reasons why abstracts are rejected
Link to AuthorAid resource library on scientific writing
Mentor feedback : Mentor feedback To facilitate comprehensive and coherent feedback, a template has been designed based on mentor responses received in AIDS 2008 and colleagues’ feedback
Mentors fill this template it and send it back, we forward to submitter.
IAS act as a buffer to avoid submitters spamming mentors.
Example of mentor feedback received : Example of mentor feedback received Is the abstract in the right track/category?
The abstract content relating to routine HIV testing in the ED seems appropriate to the Operations Research track in which you have chosen to submit. Although remember to also include under track D: Operations Research which category (D1-D26) you will be submitting too.
Are the results presented clearly?
In terms of the results presented within the abstract, at first read it was unclear as to the percentage of subjects that refused and were included in the analysis. A suggestion would be to revise the sentence in which you mention refusals and persons who are not eligible and perhaps just mentioning the (%) that were eligible, and of those (%) refused. The remainder of the results are appropriate and clear.
Is the conclusion compelling and relevant?
Some work further work is needed in the conclusion. For instance, analysis of the results in a broader context is missing. In addition future implications of this study should be addressed. Now that we know what the characteristics and risk factors of patients who refuse routine HIV testing in the ED what do we do with these results?
Results from AIDS 2008: : Results from AIDS 2008:
Results (2) : Results (2) The table shows that among mentored abstracts, 76% were finally submitted for the conference programme, out of which 80% were accepted.
Therefore, the programme helped about 40 conference delegates successfully submit an abstract for AIDS 2008.
Main strengths (1) : Main strengths (1) Feedback from online survey done with submitters (n=35):
100% found online toolkit useful
The most commonly used tool was the “Top 5 reasons why abstracts are rejected” (71% of respondents).
More than 40% used the online toolkit, FAQs and prize-winning abstracts
Most respondents (97%) indicated that mentor’s feedback was“useful” or “very useful” and 73.5% reported it was quick.
> 90% of respondents would recommend the programme to other abstract authors and would use it again.
Main strengths (2) : Main strengths (2) Feedback from online survey done with mentors (n=6):
Mentors indicated that this was a positive experience and they would be willing to serve as mentors again
Lessons learnt and implemented for 2009: : Lessons learnt and implemented for 2009: Better promotion of the online self-helf tools
Developing an online platform
Structuring mentors’ feedback
Increasing the number of mentors from previous abstract scholars
Developing a program toolkit
Consider…. : Consider…. Abstract submitters were appreciative of the feedback they received and wrote to IAS to thank them for the support provided
Mentors would be willing to provide online mentoring, but face obstacles (time and work commitment)
Results suggest that diverse types of organizations and adult learners may benefit from assistance in preparing research and program findings for conference submissions
Discussion : Discussion Should we expand the scope of abstract mentoring?
mentoring from experiment design to publication
e.g. I-TAPS, JIDC, AIACC
Larger manuscript mentoring programme?
JIAS is discussing with AuthorAid
Collaborative authoring
Potential for use of WikiEducator platform
Move from knowledge transmission to knowledge production
Thank you! : Thank you! Gurmit Singh
Professional Development Coordinator
Policy & Programmes Department
gurmit@iasociety.org
www.ias2009.org/mentor